The City Hall-County Building, commonly known as City Hall, is a 12-story building in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, that houses the seats of government of the

City of Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

. The building's west side (City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St.) holds the offices of the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

city clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...

, and

city treasurer The municipal treasurer is a position of responsibility for a municipality according to the locally prevailing laws. The treasurer of a public agency is elected wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

; and the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...

's chambers. The building's east side (County Building, 118 N. Clark St.) houses offices of the Government of Cook County, including the

Cook County Board of Commissioners The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, which includes the City ...

' chambers. The building spans a city block bounded by

Randolph Street Randolph Street is a street in Chicago running east–west through the Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway ( I-90/ I-94) ...

to the north, Washington Street to the south, Clark Street to the east, and

LaSalle Street LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, a 17th century French explorer of the Illinois Country. The portion that runs through the Chicago Loop is considered to be Chicago's f ...

to the west. It is the seventh building to serve as Chicago's city hall, the fourth built at its location, and the third shared by the governments of Chicago and Cook County. Its location has served as the seat of the city and county governments since 1853, except for a period from 1871—when the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...

destroyed the building—to 1885. The building was designed by the architectural firm

Holabird & Roche The architect, architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago school (architectu ...

in the

classical revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...

style. Its two sections were finished three years apart: the county building (east) was completed in 1908; the city hall (west) was completed in 1911. It was officially dedicated on February 27, 1911. The "fifth floor" is sometimes used as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...

for the office and power of the mayor, whose office is located on the fifth floor of the building.

History

Past Buildings (1837-1908)

The first Chicago City Hall in 1837 was in leased chambers in the Saloon Building on the corner of Lake and Clark Streets. The city next leased space in a building owned by Nancy Chapman, from 1842 until 1848, when Old Market Hall was constructed in LaSalle Street. The city owned market hall held city council business on its second floor, with shops below until 1853. A new combined city hall and county

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

was then constructed in the public square made by Randolph, LaSalle, Washington, and Clark Streets (this building, which later burned, is sometimes referred to as, ''Old Chicago Courthouse''). President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

's body

lay in state Lying in state is the tradition in which the body of a deceased official, such as a head of state, is placed in a state building, either outside or inside a coffin, to allow the public to pay their respects. It traditionally takes place in a m ...

at the old courthouse city hall prior to his burial in Springfield in 1865. The courthouse bell was rung in 1871 to raise the alarm during the

before the hall burned to the ground. A hastily constructed hall nicknamed the 'old rookery' was built around a water tank that survived the fire at LaSalle and Adams streets—today, that site houses the

Rookery Building The Rookery Building is a historic office building located at 209 South LaSalle Street in the Chicago Loop. Completed by architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root of Burnham and Root in 1888, it is considered one of their masterpie ...

(built 1888). In 1885, the city and county completed construction of a new combined building in the French Empire style at the present site (and the site of the old courthouse). This building was demolished and replaced in 1905 by the present and larger classical revival structure.

Holabird & Roche Building (1908-present)

The city and county jointly sponsored an architectural competition that

won by unanimous vote. Construction of the county building (east wing) began in 1905, and by 1907 some county offices were already beginning to move in. Construction of city hall (the west wing) was delayed until 1909 because the city had to wait for the State to increase its borrowing authority. Despite the delay, the two wings were easily linked together because the builders of the first wing arranged all necessary steel structural connections on its westernmost wall (where the wings meet) in anticipation of the second wing. Four construction workers died during the demolition of the old building and construction of the new one.

The building is distinguished by its colossal, 118 feet-tall, 9 feet-wide Woodbury granite Corinthian orders - among the largest ever built. The columns are hollow and were built in 5 feet-high segments. Altogether, the outer walls and orders are clad in 180,000 cubic feet of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

weighing 30 million pounds. The ground floor lobby is clad in solid polished Botticino marble. The exterior cornice was removed in 1948 and on March 21, 1957, a fire destroyed the original,

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

-style City Council Chamber, which featured murals by Frederick Clay Bartlett and oak paneling imported from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. A completely remodeled, contemporary-style chamber reopened in 1958. Daley Plaza 060716

During a major renovation project initiated in 1967, seventy-five percent of the interior of the building from basement to roof was renovated, including new suspended ceilings, partitions, flooring, lighting, wall finishes, bathrooms and boilers. The renovation was overseen by the Office of the City Architect with

Holabird & Root The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Moder ...

serving as consulting architect. The adjacent

Richard J. Daley Center The Richard J. Daley Center, also known by its open courtyard Daley Plaza and named after longtime mayor Richard J. Daley, is the premier civic center of the city of Chicago, Illinois. The Center's modernist skyscraper primarily houses offic ...

was constructed as an annex in the 1960s as the city and county governments outgrew the city hall-county building. Holabird & Roche (later known as

) also designed the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. building at 720 E Wisconsin Avenue in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. The Northwestern Mutual Life Building, which opened in 1914, bears striking similarity to Chicago City Hall, particularly its five-story colonnade and three grand entryways.

Features

Entrance Reliefs

The main (west) City Hall entrance features four

reliefs Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

sculpted by John Flanagan. Each of the panels represents one of four principal concerns of city government: playgrounds, schools, parks, and water supply. The main (east) County Building entrance features four additional high reliefs: a man studying a scroll; a man holding a

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...

and fishing net; and two near-identical reliefs depicting an older version of the county seal flanked by two young men. File:Chicago City Hall (51575574600).jpg File:Relief sculpture panel, Chicago City Hall, Chicago, early 20th century (NBY 605).jpg, alt= File:Relief sculpture panel, Chicago City Hall, Chicago, early 20th century (NBY 894).jpg File:Relief sculpture panel, Chicago City Hall, Chicago, early 20th century (NBY 758).jpg File:Chicago-City-Hall-County-Building-Relief.jpg File:Relief sculpture panel, Chicago City Hall, Chicago, early 20th century (NBY 547).jpg File:Entrance To Chicago's City Hall (2130003764) (cropped).jpg File:Chicago City Hall, County Building, Coat Of Arms Detail (2129228123).jpg

Green Roof

In 2001, roof gardens were completed atop the west wing serving as a pilot project to assess the impact green roofs would have on the

heat island Urban areas usually experience the urban heat island (UHI) effect; that is, they are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparent when winds ar ...

effect in urban areas, rainwater runoff, and the effectiveness of differing types of

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...

s and plant species for Chicago's climate. Although the rooftop is not normally accessible to the public, it is visually accessible from 33 taller buildings in the area. The Garden consists of 20,000 plants of more than 150 species, including shrubs, vines and two trees. The green roof design team was headed by the Chicago area fir
Conservation Design Forum
in conjunction with noted "green" architect

William McDonough William Andrews McDonough (born February 20, 1951) is an American architect and academic. McDonough is the founding principal of William McDonough + Partners and was the dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia''.'' He w ...

. With an abundance of flowering plants on the rooftop, beekeepers harvest approximately of honey each year from hives installed on the rooftop. Tours of the green roof are by special arrangement only. The Chicago City Hall Green Roof won the Merit Design Award of the American Society of Landscape Architecture (ASLA) competition in 2002. File:20080708 Chicago City Hall Green Roof.JPG,

Roof garden A roof garden is a garden on the roof of a building. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, hydrological benefits, architectural enhancement, habitats or corridors for wildlife, recreational oppo ...

atop city hall File:Chicago City Hall interior.jpg, Botticino marble lobby File:Nationalgeograph351919nat.pdf, page=39, City Hall-County Building as seen in the January 1919 issue of ''National Geographic'' File:Fasces on City Hall Chicago.jpg, A

fasces A fasces ( ; ; a , from the Latin word , meaning 'bundle'; ) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, often but not always including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbol that had its origin in the Etrus ...

above an entrance

In media

The exterior and parts of the interior of the building were featured in the climax of the 1980 comedy film ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers (formally, The Fabulous Blues Brothers’ Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul music, soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast ...

'', in which the titular characters, Jake and Elwood Blues, race to the building to beat a property tax deadline while being chased by police officers, firefighters, and the U.S. Military. The building's interiors of were featured in the 1993 blockbuster movie '' The Fugitive'', where Richard Kimble (played by

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...

) is chased down the stairs by U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Tommy Lee Jones, various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Scre ...

), until spilling into the lobby, where Kimble narrowly escapes being apprehended by Gerard and his men.

Agencies

The Following Agencies are located in the building: *Elected Offices: ** Office of the Mayor - 5th Floor ***Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities **

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

- 2nd Floor (Council Chambers) **

City Clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...

- 1st Floor **

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

- Room 106 *Buildings Department - Room 900 *Department of Finance - 7th Floor *Department of Law - Suite 600 *Business Affairs and Consumer Protection - 8th Floor *Department of Planning and Development - 10th Floor *Department of Streets and Sanitation - Room 1107 *Office of Emergency Management and Communications *Department of Procurement Services - Room 806 *Department Human Resources

References

External links

Chicago Landmarks: City Hall-County Building

Historic American Buildings Survey: Chicago City Hall, National Park Service, 1981

{{Authority control City and town halls in Illinois

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

Central Chicago

Government buildings completed in 1911

1911 establishments in Illinois Projects by Holabird & Root Chicago Landmarks Government of Cook County, Illinois